Is there normally a "wall" for small clubs in a large country?

I'm playing as Paris FC, I've gone from National up to Ligue 1, and ascended through that league to be one of the top teams. I have no trouble with the other teams that are on my level, but I just can't catch Lyon, PSG, or Marseille. I finish 4th every season, and am usually 15-20 points back of 3rd. I even beat those three teams about as much as they beat me, but they NEVER seem to drop points against any lower teams.

What are some tips for getting over that hump with a smaller team that just doesn't have the money?

I wouldn't say that there was ever a "wall" for smaller teams which are promoted through the pyramid. My only advice would be to keep plugging away and making shrewd signings, because eventually you will bridge that gap.

From experience in England on FM10, it took about 5 seasons in the Premier League with St. Blazey before I came top 2, and then I won both the Premier League and Champions League the next year. And I would never consider myself an elite manager at all, so it can definitely be done mate.

done it in 3 seasons with blackpool, had a lucky season, had an easy start, confidence built, top clubs dropped points. and was just there. there is a wall when it comes to playing at thier place though, you get rediculouly outplayed you ight as well be 2 leagues down.

I'm thinking that France might be a bit different, since the top three teams are all so much better than the rest. In order to win the league, or even qualify for the Champions League, I'd have to win all but 4 or 5 games.

it depends. i have had seasons in the premier league where the title challangers don't lose until march, yet other times they lose 3 or 4 before december. i remember on my united save fighting spurs point for point until mid march.

if you get the luck, you can get there. that is is what i see it as tbh.

your best bet for the step up is to pick up very good youth players (cheap wonderkids) that develop in your first team, so when it comes to the crunch of the big push they are very well developed and capable.

when i won with blackpool, i had wilfried and sanogo up front, 3 seasons in they developed into a formidable force.

in that save i got ryan babel on a free, one of my established defenders is a newgen from finland i spend 450k on as backup, injures set in, he earned his place.

second season picked up cosic, also use your money, use the 48 month thing if need be, even have a check around the top clubs for any players leaving on frees..

The old adage in football is that "to win the title you have to beat the other teams at the top." This is false. Its not WHO you beat, but HOW MANY you beat. The key to winning the league is ruthlessly punishing the weaker teams. I focus on building very attacking sides and play open attacking football with the goal of deystroying the weak sides. Its not enough to dominate, having 60 to 70% possession and only allow 1 shot. Its all about scoring goals against weaker sides. Of course this does leave me vulnerable against other strong sides, but I'll take sharing the points with my rivals to maximize points against the bottom.

Morale, team talks and other interactions make such a difference in FM, as significant as player attributes and tactics. Not sure how "realistic" this is, but its true. Win a few in a row and then put up a 5-0 or 7-1 and morale is sky high. Then the challenge becomes avoiding overconfidence and jadedness. Strange thing about moral is Very Good is "better" in the match engine then Superb. If a player's moral gets to superb its sometimes best to hold him out a few games. Weird huh?

Ok, I realize I probably haven't added any earth shattering wisdom...but...hey, there you go.

No that's actually very interesting. My team is almost always on Superb from top to bottom, and I make sure it stays that way. Maybe that explains why I'll draw with Lyon, win four in a row, then all of a sudden lose 4-1 at home to a basement dweller. My team is getting over confident.

So I should strive for 'Very Good' then?

No, Superb is fine if you put pressure on them. Assertive or Passionate For the Fans or Expect a Win is a must after 4-5 wins in a row. It is better that they are nervous than complacent. The last 10 league games in the league tends to be very nervous times, though, so if you lose the steamrolling form then it may be necessary to make tactical changes in order to scrape wins on a regular basis.

The gap is difficult to close as long as those three get Champions League every season and you don't. You can't outspend them since they are all filthy rich, and you won't get to sign expensive players that are significantly better than cheap ones anyway - so it is not worth it. In other words, you need to sign 15-17 year-olds with 4+ star potential and Professional, Driven, Resolute, Resilient, Ambitious (model professional and perfectionist) personalities, 15+ Determination and decent L1/leading L2 current ability (minimum) and wait while they develop. In the meantime sign transfer listed or free established L1 players of Good or Leading L1 quality and learn how and when to rotate in the youngsters.

Sooner or later, one of the three will slip up and then you get Champions League (assuming they haven't got four spaces for CL).

Edit: if you are doing this already, you just need to wait.

I'd just say keep pluggin at it, keep improving your squad signing players and slowly but surely you will reach the top, make sure you pick up maximum points from the lower teams and try t oplay for a draw away against the bigger teams. On the counter at home, thats how I usually set up when Im in and around the title places.

yes the bottom dweller thing happens often.

if you are top, draws with the top clubs suffice.

Yes there is a wall for bottom league clubs. This is, imo without lots of testing, 6th or 7th position for the first season and improves for the next seasons, but depends in what league you are playing. (i am talking about premier league)

As you mention, you beat those three top teams about as much as they beat you, this means that you are not doing something fundamentaly wrong against top clubs. Dont mind about this too much and try to beat consistently the rest of the clubs in your division

THere are not solid tips for getting over that hump with a smaller team that just doesn't have the money

Bridging that gap sounds like a really good challenge to have. All too often these things appear hard but then a front runner has a poor season and you take advantage, and once you are in that elite group it's very rare you'll drop out.